Service
Fractional CEO
A fractional CEO is an experienced operator who runs your company alongside you, two to three days a week, for a fixed term.
Free call first, then the $1,500 Bottleneck Diagnostic
Key takeaways
- A fractional CEO runs the company with you, two to three days a week, for a fixed term. You stay the owner.
- It is for the stretch where the business needs a full-time operator and you either cannot be one or should not be one.
- Within the first month the company has a weekly rhythm: one leadership meeting, one scoreboard, one list of open decisions.
- It ends on purpose. Either the company is handed back to you running properly, or handed over to a permanent CEO you hired with our help.
A fractional CEO is an experienced operator who runs your company alongside you, two to three days a week, for a fixed term. You remain the owner and you keep every decision that is yours to keep. What changes is that somebody else is now responsible for the company running well from Monday to Friday, and that person is not you.
What this covers
- An experienced operator running the company alongside you, 2 to 3 days a week
- A weekly operating rhythm within the first 30 days: one leadership meeting, one scoreboard, one list of decisions
- Your leadership team managed directly, so decisions stop routing through you by default
- Fixed term of 6 to 12 months with a written exit: hand back to you, or hand over to a hired CEO
- Hiring, onboarding and the first 90 days of a permanent CEO or COO, if that is where it lands
- Weekly written update to you: what moved, what is stuck, what needs your decision
- Never a replacement for the owner. You keep every decision that is yours to keep
Who this is for
Owners of companies between $500k and $50M in one of three situations. The company has outgrown what one person can run, and you know it. You are the founder and you want to step back from operations, but there is nobody to step back to. Or you have a permanent CEO or COO hire coming, and the company needs to be run properly in the meantime and be ready to receive them.
It is not for owners who want a manager to blame. The fractional CEO reports to you, and you will be in the room for every decision that matters.
How it works
The first thirty days are about rhythm. One weekly leadership meeting that actually decides things. One scoreboard with the five or six numbers that tell you how the company is doing. One list of open decisions, each with an owner and a date. Most owner-led companies have none of these, and installing them is where the first results come from.
After that, the work is running the company: managing your leadership team directly, closing the decisions that have been sitting for months, fixing the two or three things that keep breaking, and keeping you informed without keeping you busy. You get a written update every week: what moved, what is stuck, and what needs a decision from you.
How it ends
On purpose, and in writing. The term is six to twelve months. At the end, either the company is handed back to you with a team that runs it without daily supervision, or it is handed over to a permanent CEO or COO. If it is the second, we help you hire that person and stay through their first ninety days so nothing falls between the chairs.
What this is not
It is not an interim CEO who takes over and runs the company their own way while you watch. It is not a consultant who writes a plan and leaves. And it is not a substitute for deciding what you want the company to be. That part is still yours.
Alternatives
Fractional CEO services are for the seat itself; a part-time CEO is only the right answer when you want out of the operator role. CEO coaching if you want to stay the operator and get better at it. Organizational development consulting if the company mostly runs but decisions keep coming back to you. Leadership development consulting if the real gap is the layer below you rather than the seat at the top.
| First step | A free 30-minute call |
|---|---|
| Then | The Bottleneck Diagnostic, $1,500, fixed |
| After that | Scoped and priced from what the diagnostic finds |
| Delivery | Virtual, or on site by arrangement |
| Built for | Owner-led companies, $500k–$50M revenue |
| If we are not the fix | We say so on the call |
Next step
How to start
Book a free call. We talk for about thirty minutes about your company and what is stuck. If it sounds like something we can help with, the next step is the Bottleneck Diagnostic, a fixed piece of work at $1,500 that tells you in writing what is actually holding the company back. Any work after that is scoped and priced from what the diagnostic finds. If it turns out we are not the right fit, we will tell you on the call.
Start with a free call
Thirty minutes about your company and what is stuck. If we can help, the next step is the $1,500 Bottleneck Diagnostic. If we cannot, we will say so.